Not three hours after Warner Bros listed screenings for guild members (that includes BFCA members like myself plus all the inside showbiz organizations like AMPAS, HFPA and BAFTA etcetera) every single last screening of The Hobbit was filled to capacity (except the ones in San Francisco). I even attempted a 48 FPS* screening as a last resort though I have absolutely no desire for yet another new gimmick to soil the world's greatest artform -- isn't 3D cheapening things enough?

*I decided to give this its own tag below but I pray that I will never be forced to use it again!

Ya know, I am still mad as hell about them turning it into three movies, but every time I see a trailer for it in the theater, I get downright giddy in anticipation. It's my favorite book of all time, and Jackson has a proven handle on the world and the material in general (if not this material specifically). And Ian McKellen. And Cate Blanchett. And Hugo Weaving.

I am not so sure about the whole 48 frames per second thing, though. I was over at a friend's the other day and he had his massive, super-HD TV on, and it so happened Titanic was showing. It looked weird, not like a film at all. I'm not sure I liked it. And it seems from the preview footage that 48fps looks comparable to that.

HOWEVER, I am SO DOWN for the massive LOTR Extended Edition marathon in theaters, if I can find one near me.

Isn't it a little haste to call 48 FPS a gimmick? For all we know, this could be how most films are shot in the future. Anyway, I'm not boiling over with anticipation for The Hobbit like I'd want to be but I'll definitely be seeing it on opening weekend. I'm cautiously optimistic about the higher frame rate, though, so I might see it in IMAX first.

daniel -- it could be sure, but i for one like cinema the way it's been for decades and decades and decades. I don't need total revisions in the basic format every 3 years. pretty soon it won't even be cinema. They'll have to change the name. First no celluloid, than 3D and now a higher frames per second ratio. CINEMA WAS NOT BROKE. It doesn't need to be fixed every 3 years.